Future of the Evora in the USA

[Simon Bateman]

13 hours ago, Loquacious Lew said:

All this leaves me content with my nasty old 2017 400 that came with a $20K discount from list and a new car warranty.  What should I buy with the $40,000 I have left over?  I'm thinking Komotec tune, some personal track lessons and Type R for a daily.  Any other suggestions or have I got that about nailed?

 

Type R is a dud you say?  Well, at least I get my wing!

Nothing wrong with a Type R.

This is our everyday 

Blends in nicely!!

 

[CharlieBrown]

1 hour ago, Julian73 said:

If you want technical/commercial info from a dealer, then message or even pick up the phone to said dealer, don't expect it to just be posted on a forum.  Now on the other hand if you ask a question on a forum, please expect answers, opinions, assumptions, conjectures, comments and/or snide remarks to be given back to you.

Yes, father I will follow your orders and pick up the phone, etc. Dude, go lecture someone else. LOL....I expect good manners, something that seems to be out of style by many.  

 

 

1 hour ago, Simon Bateman said:

Nothing wrong with a Type R.

This is our everyday 

Blends in nicely!!

 

I heard it is also a fun car to drive.

Edited June 26, 2019 by CharlieBrown

[Bibs]

27 minutes ago, CharlieBrown said:

.I expect good manners, something that seems to be out of style by many.  

You reap what you sow. Your patronising tone at the very beginning of the reply is not required and is more than likely why people are abrasive to you, as are you them. 

I've removed some of your posts (and @C8RKH's) from this thread as the tone is not at all welcome on TLF. 

I've given you a warning. It's your one chance, we only give one. Be civil or move on. 

[CharlieBrown]

4 minutes ago, Bibs said:

You reap what you sow. Your patronising tone at the very beginning of the reply is not required and is more than likely why people are abrasive to you, as are you them. 

I've removed some of your posts (and @C8RKH's) from this thread as the tone is not at all welcome on TLF. 

I've given you a warning. It's your one chance, we only give one. Be civil or move on. 

It goes both ways. They rip what they sow. Don't be bias

[Bibs]

It's not a point for discussion. 

[name_bran]

I'm not OCD, but I do like organization. I've created a spreadsheet of all of the known specifications of the GT to date (along with a comparison to the 718 Spyder I built recently that was a close second decision to this GT). 

Also, in my research I've uncovered a few things that no one has mentioned yet.

1) Judging by the pictures of the press cars and the one on Lotus's website, it looks like the GT won't be getting the Euro-spec GT430 lightweight interior door cards. I'm indifferent about this. On one hand, it would have been cool to have the newer, lighter interior panels just for uniqueness and another way to differentiate the car from the 400. On the other hand, having an armrest is nice lol. 

2) WE'RE GETTING THE RED ENGINE COVER! 😁😁😁 This is validation that we have the top-dog motor from Lotus. Very cool.

 

2020 Lotus Evora GT Spec Sheet.xlsx

[ken2020]

1 hour ago, name_bran said:

I'm not OCD, but I do like organization. I've created a spreadsheet of all of the known specifications of the GT to date (along with a comparison to the 718 Spyder I built recently that was a close second decision to this GT). 

Also, in my research I've uncovered a few things that no one has mentioned yet.

1) Judging by the pictures of the press cars and the one on Lotus's website, it looks like the GT won't be getting the Euro-spec GT430 lightweight interior door cards. I'm indifferent about this. On one hand, it would have been cool to have the newer, lighter interior panels just for uniqueness and another way to differentiate the car from the 400. On the other hand, having an armrest is nice lol. 

2) WE'RE GETTING THE RED ENGINE COVER! 😁😁😁 This is validation that we have the top-dog motor from Lotus. Very cool.

 

2020 Lotus Evora GT Spec Sheet.xlsx 25.77 kB · 4 downloads

That was one of the first words out of my mouth at the factory when I saw the first American GT. Why does it have armrests? Who asked for armrests? It may be powered by a Camry but it's not a Toyota!

[CharlieBrown]

2 hours ago, ken2020 said:

That was one of the first words out of my mouth at the factory when I saw the first American GT. Why does it have armrests? Who asked for armrests? It may be powered by a Camry but it's not a Toyota!

I think they believe is a comfort thing. LOL

3 hours ago, name_bran said:

I'm not OCD, but I do like organization. I've created a spreadsheet of all of the known specifications of the GT to date (along with a comparison to the 718 Spyder I built recently that was a close second decision to this GT). 

Also, in my research I've uncovered a few things that no one has mentioned yet.

1) Judging by the pictures of the press cars and the one on Lotus's website, it looks like the GT won't be getting the Euro-spec GT430 lightweight interior door cards. I'm indifferent about this. On one hand, it would have been cool to have the newer, lighter interior panels just for uniqueness and another way to differentiate the car from the 400. On the other hand, having an armrest is nice lol. 

2) WE'RE GETTING THE RED ENGINE COVER! 😁😁😁 This is validation that we have the top-dog motor from Lotus. Very cool.

 

2020 Lotus Evora GT Spec Sheet.xlsx 25.77 kB · 6 downloads

 

Personally, I don't like the cover painted red, the finish is awful it lacks quality.  I'm also not fan of the interior color inserts. I wonder if you can order the GT without that.

[C8RKH]

The interior colour inserts are usually a cost option and you can specify the colour. I believe the default is a matt black.

[Julian73]

6 hours ago, name_bran said:

I'm not OCD, but I do like organization. I've created a spreadsheet of all of the known specifications of the GT to date (along with a comparison to the 718 Spyder I built recently that was a close second decision to this GT). 

Also, in my research I've uncovered a few things that no one has mentioned yet.

1) Judging by the pictures of the press cars and the one on Lotus's website, it looks like the GT won't be getting the Euro-spec GT430 lightweight interior door cards. I'm indifferent about this. On one hand, it would have been cool to have the newer, lighter interior panels just for uniqueness and another way to differentiate the car from the 400. On the other hand, having an armrest is nice lol. 

2) WE'RE GETTING THE RED ENGINE COVER! 😁😁😁 This is validation that we have the top-dog motor from Lotus. Very cool.

 

 

 

 

2020 Lotus Evora GT Spec Sheet.xlsx 25.77 kB · 7 downloads

I too have been keeping and adjusting a spreadsheet since the original GT430 specs.  As to the door panels, I spoke to a dealer about that as we both were expecting the armless, ones due to the recent crash testing to get the carbon backed Spaces approved.  Its wait and see what arrives at the dealers, these press cars were built 9 months ago, before the recent retesting and final spec Lotus probably just installed the now approved seats.

As a point of reference I have the 1st Sport 410 brought into the US, we though we were getting the arm less door panels but alas, as the car was no re crashed nothing could be changed, thus we got the full 400 interior, but Lotus did testing in the spring to update the approvals, of course the bumper failed but GT carbon backed seats got approved and thus probably the door cards.

 

Looked at your spread sheet.  the seats are not the CF fixed bucket racing style, but rather the heavier reclining back Sparco GT cf backed units, side airbags are required which the buckets can not accommodate. 

 

[Julian73]

2 hours ago, C8RKH said:

The interior colour inserts are usually a cost option and you can specify the colour. I believe the default is a matt black.

We get Red or Yellow at no cost

[ken2020]

So I get confirmation that my car has finally come to America.  I can almost can live with the wrong color and the wrong exhaust.  The car can be wrapped a different blue if I grow to hate it.  Lots of different exhaust choices can be had. Even though I had my heart set on the Titanium. What I find is wrong is worse than the wrong color. It is exactly what is wrong with Lotus and the way they treat the American market. "The lack of care for the details"!"  The car has blue Cat Stripes. The car was suppose to have Red cat stripes.  They can't be changed because someone at Lotus decided to clear coat over them.  The lack of caring for American cars from Lotus is a insult once again.  It states specifically on my order form that they should be Red.  I guess the British just can't read English.

This is another example of why I am such a critic of what I use to think was a amazing car company.  Take into account that they have downgraded what I ordered without proper notification. I really don't have words to describe what a bad execution they have done to bring a car to America.

The red interior panels are tacky in red but they decided to change those also without asking me what I wanted. I hope they look better when the red stripes on the seats bring the colors together. 

 It's easier to wrap them than to complain. How can one car company make so many bad decisions and mistakes?

[Champale]

Wow call me crazy but I love that color blue!  Looks a lot like Ford's Grabber Blue from the late 60s (and more recently).  

Sorry to hear about your continued bad experience with Lotus.  I would be steaming if I have plopped down the deposit and custom ordered things and then it was not EXACTLY like I wanted.  But, in saying that, your car looks fantastic overall!  

[name_bran]

@CharlieBrown I'm not a big fan of the colored interior plastics either. I think it cheapens the interior as it highlights the few cheap plastic-y looking materials inside. Black and red are no cost options, and any other color is $750. Needless to say, I ordered mine black. I love that red cover though, you can't convince me otherwise😁

@Julian73 I prefer the Sparcos to those lighter bucket seats anyway probably, but they both look really good. A fixed-back seat might not have been the most practical since I'm planning on using mine as my daily driver (except in the winter of course), and the Sparcos still look like they have good bolstering. And as for the door cards, like I said, I could take them or leave them. But Lotus of Naples just posted their first few pics of their first two showroom cars, and both of them have the 400 door cards as well. I'll be happy either way! I'm just excited to get into one of these cars in general - I've liked them ever since they came out. Even the NA ones still look great - these cars have aged very well, much like I feel my Z has. 

@ken2020 ...that... is the best looking GT I've seen to date. I absolutely LOVE that spec. I don't know what color you actually ordered, but I hope you find solace in hearing this. I ordered mine in Essex Blue with red calipers, red cat scratches, and high power silver wheels - so this is pretty close to what I'm getting. This doesn't look like Essex (maybe Cyan or Daytona Blue??) but... to my eye it might look better. Essex might be borderline too dark, but I'm gonna stick with it and chance it - hopefully it's bright enough in direct sun. This though, is absolutely gorgeous. Also, Top Speed makes a full titanium exhaust for the Evoras for like $1,500. Save yourself $6.5k and get one of those - that's the route I'm going. I've had two exhausts by them already and they're great quality. It really sucks Lotus made so many mistakes with your car... but it's absolutely stunning in that spec and you'll have one of the first customer cars in the US!

[ken2020]

@name_bran   I ordered a Essex blue car with red calipers and red cat scratches.  This one is Daytona Blue.  I had myself talked into the color but the blue cat scratches make me sick. More so than the paint being wrong.  

I like your points about the Evora NA that still looks great. I have a Z that I sold and bought back because I missed it's classic design.   I just like knowing it's in the garage.  The Evora NA is a great looking classic design. The 400 front nose never fit the car and doesn't flow with the lines. Part of the reason I still can't understand why Lotus could even think about using the 400 nose on the GT.  The exhaust was overpriced but no other exhaust is going to have the look of the triangle on the back of the 430.  It's nothing more than the cost of a new watch. I'd rather have the right look on the exhaust.  I know a custom exhaust builder in Canada, Hopefully he can replicate it. 

I planned on being one of the first owners. I waited long enough. I even booked a Factory pick up but I don't think they wanted me coming back after forcing their hand into going public about the downgrade.  It's such a shame.  Talk about ruining my bucket list.   Gone are my dreams of driving my car on Hethel but at least I did it in a Elise!  That was actually quite fast and fun. 

[Julian73]

You don't show you whole order form, nor the newer one released in April; this all seems to be an issue between you and your dealer as they produce the Order forms and submit to the factory, with teh revision in April they should have sent you a new form.  But that aside, if you ordered the stuff and the paperwork shows it then why are you accepting the car?  Maybe you car is out there and got crossed with someone else or s you say they built it wrong. Regardless, your choice to reject and start again or accept and stop complaining.  I assume they adjusted your purchase price for you to what was delivered.  But further on that note If you ordered a Ti exhaust Lotus could have one shipped over and exchanged.   My car came with the wrong steering wheel, Lotus shipped a new one to my nearest dealer at my request, not to the one I purchased the car from 1000 miles away, at teh 1000 mile service checkup the wheel was swapped over.

[Simon Bateman]

The first thing I thought when I saw the red engine cover on the 430's was that I wanted that on my 400!

Then I realised that the red probably clashes with over half the colour choices.

I love the Daytona blue, it's one of the best colours in my opinion, but I have to say that red inserts with that exterior colour are a strange choice as best.

Having door cards with a arm rest, do at least mean that there will be a shallow door bin below for sun glasses etc, which given the lack of cubby holes in the car, is certainly worth having in my 400.

 

[KG]

@ken2020

I sympathize as many of us have gone on this roller coaster ride!

Your car is stunning in this color combo and I would say you have a unique stripe as a one off from Lotus! Keep all the paperwork and frame it! It’s a classic already and a great conversation piece!

I also wanted and ordered a CF OEM front bumper and CF rear wing to match the look of the GT430 at a cost of $13000.00 shipped from www.DeRoure.com.

Will be getting the Top Speed Ti exhaust and perhaps a komotec flash!

Enjoy the car!

 

 

[The Pits]

Totally understand your frustration and disappointment with the process but heck the car itself is spectacular!

[pharriso]

Talk about first world problems!

Lotus gave you the choice of accepting this car, or ordering another car exactly the way you want it, move on for heaven's sake.

[CharlieBrown]

11 hours ago, name_bran said:

@CharlieBrown I'm not a big fan of the colored interior plastics either. I think it cheapens the interior as it highlights the few cheap plastic-y looking materials inside. Black and red are no cost options, and any other color is $750. Needless to say, I ordered mine black. I love that red cover though, you can't convince me otherwise😁!

 If I get the GT I will probably swap my engine covers and put the red one on my 400. However, it is not a deal breaker. Enjoy!

[name_bran]

You guys keep saying he could reject the car, but he's already been waiting for it for almost 2 years - back when Lotus promised us the full-on GT430. Think about how long that is and how much this car has changed since. If he submitted a new order now it would almost certainly be in the second build batch and wouldn't get here until around the same time as mine - which may be as late as December according my dealer. That's going on three years of waiting! Sure, most of us in here say we'd reject it and order a new one and get the correct spec (myself included), but I don't believe anyone has put as much time and effort into this car as Ken has. So while it's easy for us to say, I can understand just him just wanting cut his losses, wash his hands of the whole process, accept the car, and be done with it. This whole ordeal just sucks, and I'm pretty empathetic to his situation.

I just hope the car wins you over in the end Ken, as it is beautiful regardless of it being an incorrect build. 

[ken2020]

So many good opinions.

First, I can have another one built. Which puts me at the end of the line.  Why Lotus didn't start building me a new one a month ago blows my mind.  It's only in the last 2 weeks or so that they have offered to build another one.  This is on them and not me.  I put down one of the original deposits.  I was number 11 in order. As I can tell most people bailed on the car that were ahead of me because of the downgrade.  I've waited in line and should be treated as such. Waiting until November or December isn't acceptable.

@Julian73 I'd be all for having the Ti exhaust added by the dealer but I"m not paying anything over the price of the exhaust when the car is bought.  Lotus seems unwilling to go that route.

For the record. The Daytona blue might be a blessing.  It might be the better color.  Put me out of my comfort zone a little.  It's not like these cars are available for viewing. 

@KG It's great that we can agree.  Once I figure out if I'm keeping this one or ordering another. I will be ordering my bumper and wing. Might need a copy of your parts list so I don't miss any bolt or bracket.  Which becomes another revenue stream for Lotus on the back end.

12 hours ago, Julian73 said:

You don't show you whole order form, nor the newer one released in April; this all seems to be an issue between you and your dealer as they produce the Order forms and submit to the factory, with teh revision in April they should have sent you a new form.  But that aside, if you ordered the stuff and the paperwork shows it then why are you accepting the car?  Maybe you car is out there and got crossed with someone else or s you say they built it wrong. Regardless, your choice to reject and start again or accept and stop complaining.  I assume they adjusted your purchase price for you to what was delivered.  But further on that note If you ordered a Ti exhaust Lotus could have one shipped over and exchanged.   My car came with the wrong steering wheel, Lotus shipped a new one to my nearest dealer at my request, not to the one I purchased the car from 1000 miles away, at teh 1000 mile service checkup the wheel was swapped over.

The order form was produced by LotusUSA. The dealer did not make it up. I was never given a second order form from LotusUSA. My car was already in production before the downgrade was released (and second order form sent out) to the public and Lotus just did what they wanted with the options as they saw fit. I'm not the only person this happened to.

[The Pits]

I often wonder how such finely honed, definitive driver's cars emerge from such a chaotic process. Through good times and bad, somehow, the largely unappreciated brilliance keeps rolling out of the factory gates. Either Lotus will instantly take over the world with the injection of some proper investment or, for whatever reason, if you take away the madness, the genius goes with it too. Chaos seems to be strangely related to the creative process in other pursuits - art, music, film. Usually with other art forms when you take away the crazy you lose the spark. You get the disappointing more commercial 3rd album. Very different to making cars I know but just putting it out there!

I ordered white and red twin stitching on my Evora, mistakenly thinking that to be the car's signature colours. It turns out it's silver and red, all the other cars have silver and red stitching, silver and red decals. Lotus were very fair about it and offered to re-do the car but when I saw it I liked it and was happy to keep it. A happy accident aka serendipity. Might be another case of that with the Daytona Blue? I probably wouldn't have ordered it either but when I saw Bibs Evora SR in that colour it was just WOW.

[brian.s.henry]

For those that have asked for a closer look at the rear plate mount/ rear bumper over-riders, here's a close up.